During the 16th and 17th centuries, phenomena called “witch hunts” took place in different European countries and America. During this time, somewhere between 40,000 to 100,000 were ruthlessly killed, allegedly for being a witch or evil. These people were executed as they had some strange rituals and religious beliefs. Then, people of Europe and America could not understand the witch-cult’s significance. Later, the term witch-cult became immensely popular among the Brits and US people.
First, the Wiccans were alleged to be the worshippers of devils. People suspected that they were behind all the mischievous activity that was happening in society. From then on, Wicca got black magick and mischief or devil tag. Witches were considered devils in different European and American books for the child. In reality, witches are not at all evil. There is nothing called a witch, but the practice of a special ritual is called a witch-cult. Modern historians agreed that witches had nothing to do with any social mishaps. They were just killed due to some mass hysteria.
However, this is not the only origin of the witch-cult. Later, this cult was re-originated or reincarnated by a famous English lady named Margaret Murray. In the 20th century, during the year 1970, the witch-cult hypothesis or concept became popular and gradually became popular. This is also widely known as Pan European pagan religion.
New Forest Coven
In 1954, a retired civil officer, Gerald Gardner, came up with a new book, ‘ Witchcraft Today’. After the advent of the market, the book became very popular. It is a written document on witch-cult. Several interesting facts about the witch cult can be derived from this piece of literature. According to this book, the witch cult was initiated by a group known as the New Forest Coven. Mr. Gardner met those people personally when he was on his service and collected a lot of data about them. In his book, he mentioned two people among them. They are Old Dorothy and Dofo.
Sources for Wicca
The ritual form of Wicca has enough influence on Victorian-era occultism. However, the spiritual concept of the religion was derived from the older Pagan faiths. Nevertheless, in the Pagan faith, Hinduism and Buddhism are clearly visible. Thus, it is very interconnected and has been practiced worldwide in many forms and formats.